Namibia — Airports

Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport

The primary gateway into Namibia is Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, which serves the capital. The hub was named after the country’s Herero leader Hosea Kutako and is located 28 miles east of Windhoek. An average of 700,000 passengers a year travel throguh here following its renovation in 2009. The airport has one modern terminal containing a Departures hall and an Arrivals hall.

Currently, there are only seven airlines regularly flying in and out of Hosea Kutako. The airport only receives intercontinental flights from Berlin-Tegel via Air Berlin and Frankfurt with Air Namibia. Most of the connections coming in are from major cities in neighboring countries such as Ghana, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Zambia, which is why most direct flights to Windhoek tend to be expensive. It is better to fly into the regional hub of Johannesburg-OR Tambo in South Africa, which receives a number of flights from practically every region of the globe including New York-JFK, Washington-Dulles, Atlanta, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam, and many other major cities. From Johannesburg, visitors can connect to Windhoek via Air Namibia, British Airways, South Africa Airways, or South African Express. A flight from New York to Johannesburg usually takes 17 hours, plus another 1 hour, 30 minutes to connect to Namibia.

Despite its size and lack of flight options, Hosea Kutako has a number of airport facilities, including gift shops, restaurants, coffee shops, duty-free outlets, business lounges, bookshops, and newsstands. From Hosea Kutako, shuttle services take passengers downtown which leave with a minimum of two people, but taxi cabs are also available.

Windhoek Eros Airport

Hosea Kutako International Airport receives very few domestic flights. The hub for domestic travel, both regular and chartered, is Windhoek Eros Airport. It is one of the busiest airports in the Southern African Development Community, covering 15 states in southern Africa. Located just three miles from the city center, the airport is primarily used for Air Namibia connections to Katima Mulilo, Walvis Bay and Ondangwa. At least one hour of travel time should be allowed to get between Eros and Hosea Kutako airports.